In form: Romelu Lukaku has hit eight goals so far for Everton after being loaned from parent club Chelsea at the start of the season

Aresenal manager Arsene Wenger feels the Barclays Premier League loan system does not allow full commitment if players cannot tackle their parent clubs.

The Barclays Premier League leaders are set to face Everton tomorrow, with the Toffees reaping the benefit of Romelu Lukaku, who has so far scored eight goals since joining on a season-long move from Chelsea.

However, regulations will not allow the powerful 20-year-old Belgian to face his Stamford Bridge team-mates.

Wenger (below) feels that such deals should be all or nothing.

"The system of loaning out players has existed for a while. I'm not against it, I just think that the players should be allowed as well to play against the team who has loaned the player out," he said.

"I always did plead for that because there is no reason once you signed for a club that you should not be allowed to play against everybody.

"When you sign for a club it means 'I commit for every single game I play for this club' and there should be no exception."

Wenger added: "Of course at some stage when I arrived in England you could decide if you loan a player out can he play against you or not, I remember I had that case with (Francis) Jeffers when I loaned him out and I always said 'yes if I loan a player out I allow him to play against us' –even if in the case of Jeffers he scored against us. I just think it is right."

Wenger, who was in central London yesterday along with Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to visit the Teenage Cancer Trust facility at University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre, has challenged his team not to lose focus as they look to stay clear of the chasing pack again this weekend.

"I don't think that (complacency) is a danger because we are hungry and we want to win," he said.

"We have just put a few results together that should make us and will make us more ambitious, but as well conscious that in every single game you need to put a top level performance in.

"It is a continuity as well because since the beginning of 2013 we have been quite consistent in our results, but now we have a big week in front of us starting with Everton and we have to show we have the hunger and the quality to do it."

Everton head to the Emirates Stadium on the back of a 1-0 win away to Manchester United, as Roberto Martinez recorded a memorable triumph over his predecessor David Moyes.

Wenger has been impressed. He said: "Martinez has done remarkably well because they had difficult games. They have played many of the big teams in the league and overall are in a very strong position in the league.

"They have just come out of a win against Manchester United.

"We are lucky this season a little bit, because there is always a big warning before we play these teams they have exceptional results. "That keeps us on our toes. We know for us it is a big game."

The Everton fixture has been designated in aid of the Arsenal Foundation, which will see players and manager donate a day's wages to charity.

The Teenage Cancer Trust Hub is just one of the projects supported by the Gunners', with more than £1million committed to charities and projects which have helped reach more than 100,000 young people.

Wenger said: "Arsenal is involved a lot in the community.

"It is part of the history of the club and we always want to be a club who respects tradition and is deeply integrated in the community and as well goes forward, has a forward thinking way to deal with that of course.

"We were of course very proud to help and we have visited the unit today and we could witness what remarkable work people do in that unit, how helpful it is as well for people to come in and to be able to go home again and have their treatment and as well the presence from the family."

Meanwhile, Manager Roberto Martinez is adamant new Everton hero Bryan Oviedo is competition and not a replacement for left-back Leighton Baines.

With the England international likely to be sidelined by a broken toe well into next month, his Costa Rican deputy has made an impact, scoring the winner against Manchester United.

Martinez said: "The last thing we want is to lose experienced players, players who mean a lot to Everton and who represent a lot in terms of what we want to achieve."

Belfast Telegraph

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